“It was a real challenge”: technical inspection professionals ready to certify motorcycles and scooters

Feet in the starting blocks. Seven days before the entry into force of the mandatory technical inspection for category L vehicles, i.e. two or three-wheeled motor vehicles and motorized quadricycles, professionals in the sector are giving the final polish. “We are ready”, affirm with one voice the members of Mobilians to Le Figaro. The representatives of the specialized employers' organization are just waiting for the start to deliver the precious sesame to the bikers.

From April 15, “the geographical coverage will be completely adequate. All departments will be covered,” assures Alexandra Herbel, president of the Technical Control branch of Mobilians (formerly the National Council of Automotive Professions). The leading professional organization in the sector with 180,000 companies, Mobilians represents 85% of technical controllers in France. All users should therefore be able to find a state-approved center near their home. A real tour de force, according to the bosses of Autosur, Autosécurité, Motovision and other technical inspection centers, who claim to have “trained more than half of their controllers, or 3,500 people, in just three months”.

Because professionals already approved to check heavy goods vehicles and classic cars must receive 37 hours of training, including seven exclusively dedicated to handling vehicles, to check the good condition of scooters, motorcycles, quads and other cars without a license. “It was a real challenge that we took on and succeeded. But it remains an investment, particularly of time, to train our teams in these new control methods,” continues Alexandra Herbel, “history will tell us if it is worth the effort.”

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For the moment, it is difficult to know the real state of the rolling stock of L vehicles, due to lack of control so far. In particular vehicles without a license, which represent “the great unknown”, according to professionals in the sector, especially since these vehicles “drive in town, and must respect very precise braking distances and therefore be in perfect condition”. So even if voices were raised against the obligation of technical inspection of two-wheelers, the members of Mobilians recall that “technical inspection is a tool for maintaining the condition of a rolling stock. The objective of control is not to note defects but to ensure that there are none.

For technical inspectors, the introduction of this new regulation means the opening of a new market. The fleet of category L vehicles is estimated at four million vehicles in circulation. Ultimately, nearly a million technical inspections will be carried out annually, compared to twenty-five million for the light vehicle fleet. This is why the large networks of Mobilians but also small independent companies, represented by the National Automobile Federation, have massively trained in these new controls to receive the State stamp.

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However, this is not a definitive certificate, recalls Gérard Polo, honorary president of the FNA. “From next year, new obligations will come into force, in particular to have a celerometer and a sound level meter,” he specifies. These are new materials that technical inspectors do not use for other vehicles. However, without these gadgets which only the police use today, it is impossible to obtain final approval. Result: “many centers will stop controlling two-wheelers next year,” estimates the former president of the FNA.